5/29 News Roundup: The Sorta-Kinda Fix For Messages

This is my first week back at Macgasm after taking some time to deal with, you know, real life. (Stupid real life, always getting in the way.) But it’s been a busy week in tech. Let’s get you all caught up with what’s making news.

The (Temporary) Fix Is In For Messages Crash Bug

Apple has yet to issue a fix for a bizarre crashing bug affecting Messages for iOS, but it did publish a workaround. It goes a little like this: Have Siri read unread messages, then have Siri reply to the conversation with the crash-inducing message. Apple says it’s working on a real fix, but in the meantime, this bug might give you a reason to actually use Siri.

Google Photos: The Fine Print

Before you jump head-first into Google’s new Photos service, you may want to take a few minutes to read the terms of service. The Loop’s Dave Mark did, and although he isn’t a lawyer, he did not like what he saw. If nothing else, this should serve as a friendly reminder to always take the time to read the terms of service for the sites and services you use.

About Those Apple Vans…

Remember the buzz surrounding those Apple mystery vans a few months ago? According to 9to5Mac, those vans aren’t part of the rumored Apple Car project, but instead are part of an effort to improve Apple’s Maps app. It may take a couple years for these efforts to come to fruition, though.

Apple Buys An Augmented Reality Company. Cue Rumors.

While we’re on the topic of future Apple projects, the company has bought Metaio, a firm specializing in augmented reality, according to TechCrunch. As you might expect, Apple isn’t saying anything about what it plans to do with Metaio and its tech, but it doesn’t take much to imagine what it might be working on. Hmm…

Facebook Lets You Get Your GIF On

Somehow, Facebook made it to 2015 without supporting animated GIFs. But as Engadget notes, it has since corrected this glaring (?) omission so you can now meme it up with your favorite animated GIFs from the image hosting site of your choice. You still can’t upload your own to Facebook, though.